Department for Transport

Railways: Bradford

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with Transport for the North on including a Bradford station on the Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with Transport for the North about the potential economic benefits to Bradford of the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if Bradford will be included among the stations for the Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Andrew Jones: Northern Powerhouse Rail, sometimes called HS3, is the Government’s vision for dramatically faster and more frequent rail journeys across the North, to help build the Northern Powerhouse and strengthen the British economy. The Department is working closely with Transport for the North to assess the case for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) including whether the NPR network can serve key markets such as Bradford.

Gatwick Airport: Night Flying

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate how many people are adversely affected by night flights from Gatwick Airport in Tonbridge and Malling constituency.

Mr John Hayes: It is not possible to define a single threshold beyond which people will be adversely affected by night noise as the effect will be different depending on the individual. The Government recognises the costs on local communities from aircraft noise during the night, particularly the health costs associated with sleep disturbance. In our recent consultation on night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, we have quantified the effects of aircraft noise to a level of 48dB Lnight, which is the lowest level at which it is possible to reliably measure and predict average aircraft night noise levels. The Government has also proposed the establishment of an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise as a body whose functions would include advising on best practice and accessibility of noise information to facilitate community engagement on airspace proposals.

Rebecca Coriam

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (a) made to and (b) received from third parties on its inquiry into the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the cruise ship Disney Wonder.

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what factors his Department took into account in taking the decision to discontinue the Marine Accident Investigation Branch inquiry into the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the Disney Wonder cruise ship.

Mr John Hayes: Rebecca Coriam disappeared from a Bahamas registered vessel in non-UK waters. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) therefore has no jurisdiction in this case and did not initiate an investigation. An investigation was undertaken by authorities in the Bahamas and the Chief Inspector wrote to the Bahamas Maritime Authority to register the UK as a substantially interested state pursuant to the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code. MAIB has received one request from a third party into the information it holds on the case.

Roads: Greater London

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to (a) Transport for London and (b) London boroughs to repair potholes.

Andrew Jones: Responsibility for local highways maintenance in London, including repairing potholes, is a devolved matter and therefore falls to Transport for London and the London Boroughs. Under section 101 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Department for Transport provides a grant to Transport for London (TfL), known as the GLA transport grant. In the current financial year, the grant amounted to some £1.4bn, with £944m of this in the form of a capital investment grant and £447m in the form of a general grant. TfL in turn provide some financial support to London boroughs for schemes to maintain their transport networks.It is for TfL and ultimately the Mayor of London to decide how best to spend the grant, including how much should be spent on roads maintenance, and the Mayor is accountable to the London Assembly for this. In addition to the GLA transport grant, the Department for Transport also provided a one-off payment of £10 million through a Pothole Fund in June 2014 to help fix potholes in London.

Cycling: Safety

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 58192, if he will set out recent and planned future changes in the driving test for HGV vehicles to increase safety for cyclists.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is taking measures to make the theory and practical driving tests more reflective of a real life driving journey, including a greater emphasis on increasing safety for cyclists. Theory Test: The lorry and bus theory tests include questions about dealing with vulnerable road users, including cyclists. Following a review of the Hazard Perception Test (HPT) content, each test now includes at least two clips that involve cyclists. The introduction of computer-generated technology provided the opportunity to include vulnerable road users (VRU) such as cyclists, children and horses. The current focus for future clip development is on driving in bad weather and darkness and these clips will also include vulnerable road users. Practical Test: The practical Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) driving test involves on road driving for a minimum of 50 minutes and covers a wide variety of roads that allows examiners to assess the driver’s ability to deal safely with vulnerable road users. The practical test is an effective assessment of a driver’s skills, knowledge and competency, including their ability to interact with cyclists. Drivers who show they are not able to interact safely with cyclists will not pass their practical test. It is compulsory for all professional drivers of HGVs and Passenger Carrying Vehicles (PCV) to complete the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) periodic training; this consists of 35 hours training spread over a five year period. Over 100,000 drivers per year complete periodic training focussed on VRUs. The ongoing training includes a wide range of topics including awareness of VRUs in urban areas and city centres.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of senior civil servants of his Department are (a) men, (b) women, (c) disabled, (d) from working-class backgrounds and (e) from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Mark Lancaster: Information on the proportion of Senior Civil Servants in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that are men, women and from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background is set out below. Senior Civil Service by Gender and Ethnicity as at 1 January 2017 GenderHeadcountProportion (Percentage)Female8527.0%Male23573.0%Total320-  EthnicityHeadcountProportion (Percentage)White24097.2%BAME52.8%No response and choose not to declare75-Total320-Source: Defence Statistics (Civilian)  Notes:1. All totals have been individually rounded to nearest 5 and may not sum precisely to overall total.2. Data is based on personnel recorded as being in a Senior Civil Service Grade as at 1 January 2017 on the MOD’s Human Resources Management System.3. Data includes personnel in MOD Main Top Level Budgets, and the Defence Equipment and Support Bespoke Trading Entity, but excludes personnel in Trading Funds as well as Royal Fleet Auxiliary Personnel and Locally engaged Civilians for whom this data is not available.4. Proportions for gender and ethnicity category have been calculated from raw unrounded totals and rounded to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of personal information.  Further current statistical information on Civilian personnel can be found online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/591838/20170203_-_QCPR_January_2017.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/591840/2017-02-13_QCPR_Background_Quality_Report.pdf

Military Bases: USA

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to whom US military bases sited in the UK are accountable.

Mike Penning: Military bases in the UK that are made available to the US Visiting Forces remain Crown Estate, and oversight and accountability for the bases rests with the Ministry of Defence. The US Visiting Forces are however responsible for administering their own activities and in doing so are accountable to US military authorities.

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 64541, what discussions his Department had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on the drafting of the White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Defence, and other Departments, are working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union on all aspects of exiting the European Union.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Enterprise Capital Funds: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of the recipients of the Enterprise Capital Funds' programme were companies with at least one woman in a leadership position in each fiscal year since 2009-10.

Margot James: The Enterprise Capital Funds' programme is currently investing in 312 businesses. This includes 169 businesses with females in leadership positions.

Business: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of the recipients of funding from the Business Finance Partnership were companies with at least one woman in a leadership position in each fiscal year since 2009-10.

Margot James: Business Finance Partnership is facilitating over £5.2 billion of funding to almost 2,000 businesses. We do not hold data on numbers of female recipients.

Energy Intensive Industries: Carbon Emissions

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report of the House of Lords Economics Affairs Committee, The Price of Power: Reforming the Electricity Market, HL 113, published on 24 February 2017, if his Department will make an assessment of the extent to which emissions have been exported from the UK to other countries as a result of the relocation to those countries of UK energy intensive industries.

Mr Nick Hurd: As set out in the Industrial Strategy green paper, the Government will set out in 2017 a long-term roadmap to minimise business energy costs. We are already taking a range of measures to protect industry from the risk of competitiveness impacts and carbon leakage – where emissions are exported to other countries - due to energy and climate change policy.This includes a package of relief for energy intensive industries (EIIs), such as steel and chemicals, whose competitiveness may be impacted by the effect of energy and climate change policies on electricity costs.In addition, under the EU Emissions Trading System, carbon allowances are allocated for free to sectors judged at risk of carbon leakage because of their high carbon and trade intensity.The Government will respond to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s report in due course.

Exchange Rates: Exports

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent change in the value of sterling on exports from the UK's manufacturing sector.

Mr Nick Hurd: The latest manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index survey shows new export orders increasing for the ninth successive month.Data from the Office for National Statistics show that manufacturing output increased by 1.2% in the three months to December compared to the three months to September, and that the volume of exports increased by 7.1% over the same period.We are not complacent and we know that promoting trade delivery is more important than ever for the UK: the creation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) demonstrates clearly that the Government is committed to promoting international trade and investment in manufacturing.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Kim Jong-nam

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Malaysian counterpart on the killing of Kim Jong-nam.

Alok Sharma: We are in close contact with the Malaysian authorities and stand ready to provide assistance if required.

Kim Jong-nam

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his North Korean counterpart on the killing of Kim Jong-nam.

Alok Sharma: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has no contact with his counterpart.

Georgia: EU External Relations

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made in implementing the Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that agreement on the prospects for economic growth in Georgia.

Boris Johnson: ​Georgia is making good progress on implementation of the ambitious political, governance and economic reforms agreed under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, which entered into force on 1 July 2016. The Association Agreement, and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement that accompanies it and which entered into force in 2014, supports Georgia’s economic growth by providing both EU market access and impetus for modernising reforms such as improved rule of law, public sector administration, vocational education and judicial reform.The British Government monitors progress closely and encourages and supports the Georgian Government to maintain momentum across the board and in particular on judicial reform, where more work is needed by Georgia to further embed democratic institutions and attract investment. In the six months following the introduction of the Georgia-EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area in September 2014, Georgian exports to the EU rose by 12%, with exports of some products doubling or tripling. [Source: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2015/may/tradoc_153435.pdf]

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of senior civil servants of her Department are (a) men, (b) women, (c) disabled, (d) from working-class backgrounds and (e) from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Rory Stewart: DFID’s Senior Civil Servants representation, as at 28 February 2017, is shown in the below table: MenWomenDisabledBlack & minority ethnic55.4%44.6%8.4%2.4%Information on staff socio economic status cannot be provided.

Yemen: Ports

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2017 to Question 62668, what assessment her Department has made of port capacity in Yemen; and what options her Department has taken forward to improve port infrastructure for aid delivery.

Rory Stewart: The conflict has destroyed or damaged critical infrastructure (for example, the largest cranes in the port of Hodeidah) and the current phase of military activity along the Red Sea is already further limiting the flow of life-saving commodities through Hodeidah port. Over 80% of food assistance in the last 6 months of 2016 entered the country through Hodeidah and neighbouring Salif ports. If Hodeidah port ceases to function, this would accelerate the onset of famine.We continue to discuss options to improve port infrastructure in Hodeidah with Gulf countries, the US and the UN. However, recent events have made the successful delivery of mobile cranes for Hodeidah unlikely in the short-term.

Department for International Development: Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many officials of her Department were in Yemen on 1 March 2017.

Rory Stewart: There are no UK government officials currently working in Yemen due to the current security situation in the country.

Department for Education

Grammar Schools

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and which grammar schools have requested funding from her Department for onsite or annex expansion of existing selective schools since September 2016.

Nick Gibb: Eligible multi and single academy trusts, including selective schools, can apply for expansion projects through the annual Condition Improvement Fund. We are currently processing this year’s applications and expect to announce outcomes, including the names of approved projects, by April.

Baverstock Academy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department did not accept the offer from a sponsor to take over control of Baverstock Academy.

Edward Timpson: When considering solutions for underperforming schools which require sponsors, my department assesses conditions at the school including the state of leadership and governance; the school’s financial health; building conditions and pupil numbers, alongside any other issue that the school may be dealing with. We also consider the current and prospective performance and financial health of any sponsor and the relative benefits of the various options available to enable children to get a good education. All these factors can be relevant to whether the performance of the underperforming school can be substantially improved. Officials approached five sponsors to negotiate the rebrokerage of the Baverstock Academy. All but one felt that the academy posed too great a risk to the performance and financial health of the schools within their trust. This sponsor submitted a proposal to sponsor the Baverstock Academy. After completing a review of the conditions at Baverstock, and the various options available, the department judged that the academy could pose too great a risk to the overall performance and financial health of the potential sponsor, and the chances of them improving the performance of Baverstock Academy substantially were very uncertain. Given the circumstances, closure and locating to another school was a better option for the pupils at Baverstock Academy. This judgement led to the announcement of the in-principle agreement to terminate the funding agreement.

Ministry of Justice

Administration of Justice: Mental Health

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessments she has made of the effectiveness of the training provided to (a) court staff and (b) members of the judiciary on identifying and supporting court users with a mental health condition.

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to (a) court staff and (b) members of the judiciary on identifying and supporting court users with a mental health condition.

Sir Oliver Heald: All Ministry of Justice employees are required to complete a mandatory Equality and Diversity training module which makes specific reference to mental health conditions and supporting vulnerable customers. In addition, Mental Health Awareness courses have also been delivered to employees across the country and frontline court training materials also link into the ‘Every Witness Matters’ handbook to ensure that employees are aware of the potential impact that a mental health condition may have on a court user. Colleagues working in National Business Centres have been provided with specific training on ‘Dealing with Traumatic Calls’. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for the training of the judiciary rests with the Lord Chief Justice as Head of the Judiciary. Training on mental health issues is limited to awareness in order to help judges ensure that all court users are treated equally and fairly. Judges are able to access advice and guidance on this through the Equal Treatment Bench Book which is publicly available at: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/equal-treatment-bench-book/ Data relating specifically to the effectiveness of the training is not held but the department is committed to the continued development of initiatives to ensure employees can support customers who may be suffering from a mental health condition.

Custodial Treatment: North Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been given an immediate custodial sentence of less than six months in courts used by North Wales Police in North Wales by (a) gender and (b) offence in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of adult offenders sentenced to immediate custody, by gender, offence category and court at all courts in the North Wales police force area can be viewed in the tables as follows:- Table 1 provides information for Mold Crown CourtTable 2 provides information for Wrexham Maelor Local Justice AreaTable 3 provides information for Flintshire Local Justice Area.Table 4 provides information for Denbighshire Local Justice AreaTable 5 provides information for Conwy Local Justice AreaTable 6 provides information for Ynys Mon (Anglesey) Local Justice AreaTable 7 provides information for Gwynedd Local Justice Area Magistrates’ courts data is reported by the Ministry of Justice by Local Justice area, which can contain one or more magistrates’ courts. It is not possible to provide equivalent information for juveniles. This is because this information, if released, could lead to identification of the individuals concerned.



Offenders sentenced to immediate custody
(Word Document, 155.5 KB)

Criminal Records: Databases

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) procedures and (b) timescales are by which findings of not guilty are entered into the criminal record database; and at what point a person found not guilty receives a clear Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Sir Oliver Heald: HM Courts & Tribunals Service is responsible for ensuring that case outcome and sentence information, including whether the defendant was found guilty or not guilty, is sent to the police for inclusion on the Police National Computer (PNC). The average time taken to send case results to the police in the financial year 2015/16 was 1.3 working days. The Ministry of Justice has no further involvement in Disclosure and Barring Service processes and is a matter for the Home Office.

Prisons: Drugs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to tackle drug dealing (a) in general and (b) of spice in prisons.

Dr Phillip Lee: We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison. We have rolled out tests for new psychoactive substances, and have trained our 300 dogs to detect these drugs. We have introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls face up to two years in prison. The Psychoactive Substances Act introduced specific new offences for the supply and possession of a psychoactive substances in a prison. The White Paper on prison reform, which the Secretary of State announced in November, outlined a major shake-up of the prison system with 2,500 extra prisons officers and new security measures to tackle drones, phones and drugs and help make prisons places of safety and reform. The Prison and Courts Bill, introduced earlier this month, follows up on that commitment with a range of measures to support Governors and to strengthen security, including improvements to drug testing and enabling closer working with mobile network operators to block illicit phone signals in prisons. In line with the White Paper commitment, the new national intelligence command, supported by seven regional intelligence units is now in place. The National Intelligence Unit (NIU) ensures that intelligence is being gathered, interrogated and fully exploited across prisons and probation. The NIU have developed products specifically designed to combat the threat of psychoactive substances within prisons. All Units work with prisons, probation and law enforcement partners to develop intelligence on offenders who present the greatest threat to prison security – which includes those involved in the supply of drugs. The work within our regional units has already started to pay dividends as disruption activity resulting from intelligence provided has taken place. This work is supported by a protocol with the National Police Chiefs Council for the mandatory referral of all potential cases of conveyance, supply, and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug.

Prisons

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to next visit (a) HMP Wormwood Scrubs and (b) HMP Pentonville.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Minister for Prisons visited HMP Wormwood Scrubs on 30 August 2016 and The Secretary of State visited HMP Pentonville on 1 December 2016. The Ministerial team regularly visit prisons as part of an ongoing programme of establishment visits.

Prisons: Drugs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the level of drug dealing in (a) HMP Wormwood Scrubs and (b) HMP Pentonville.

Dr Phillip Lee: Drugs getting into prisons is a problem but we have a plan. We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison. We have rolled out tests for new psychoactive substances, and have trained our 300 dogs to detect these drugs. We have introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls face up to two years in prison. The Psychoactive Substances Act introduced specific new offences for the supply and possession of a psychoactive substances in a prison. The White Paper on prison reform, which the Secretary of State announced in November, outlined a major shake-up of the prison system with 2,500 extra prisons officers and new security measures to tackle drones, phones and drugs and help make prisons places of safety and reform. The Prison and Courts Bill, introduced earlier this month, follows up on that commitment with a range of measures to support Governors and to strengthen security. In line with the White Paper commitment, the new national intelligence command, supported by seven regional intelligence units is now in place. The National Intelligence Unit (NIU) ensures that intelligence is being gathered, interrogated and fully exploited across prisons and probation. The NIU have developed products specifically designed to combat the threat of psychoactive substances within prisons. All Units work with prisons, probation and law enforcement partners to develop intelligence on offenders who present the greatest threat to prison security – which includes those involved in the supply of drugs. The London and Thames Valley regional unit provides support to both Pentonville and Wormwood Scrubs to pursue those involved in the distribution of drugs and disrupt their activity within prisons. The work within our regional units has already started to pay dividends as disruption activity resulting from intelligence provided has taken place. This work is supported by a protocol with the National Police Chiefs Council for the mandatory referral of all potential cases of conveyance, supply, and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug.

Bail Hostels: Drugs

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many deaths where the presence of a novel psychoactive substance was noted occurred in bail hostels, by premises, in each year since 2010.

Dr Phillip Lee: Since 2010, psychoactive substances have not been linked to the deaths of any residents of Approved Premises.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: USA

Christian Matheson: To ask the Prime Minister, in what capacity her address to the Republican Party in Philadelphia on 26 January 2017 was given.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the press release following my address to the Republican Party, a transcript of which can be found on gov.uk website.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Business: Data Protection

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of commercial companies that retain individuals' personal data.

Matt Hancock: The Department does not hold information on the number of commercial companies that retain individuals' personal data. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) requires every data controller who is processing personal data to register with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. Information on registration can be found on the ICO's website at: www.ico.org.uk

Non-domestic Rates: Sports

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the financial effect of business rate changes on community and amateur sports clubs.

Tracey Crouch: My Rt Hon friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is working with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to provide additional support for those businesses hardest hit following the business rates revaluation.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) ethnicity, (b) gender, (c) disability status, (d) educational background and (e) socio-economic status is of the three most senior officials of her Department.

George Eustice: Diversity data is collected from Defra employees through voluntary self-declaration. However, for reasons of anonymity it is not possible to provide a breakdown in the answer as the numbers are too small to report.Defra does not collect data on educational background or socio-economic status.

Flood Control: Beckenham

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many flood prevention schemes have been put in place in Beckenham constituency since 2015.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency has not put any flood prevention schemes in place in the Beckenham constituency since 2015. However between 2013 and 2015, the Government has invested £155,000 on capital works, better protecting 12 properties from flooding, and £450,000 on maintenance works along the River Ravensbourne.   Between April 2016 and March 2021, the Government plans to invest a further £924,000 on flood risk management schemes in the Beckenham constituency, better protecting around 200 properties from flooding.

Department for Communities and Local Government

European Union Solidarity Fund

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 January 2017, on Winter Flooding 2015-16, HCWS412, what the cost (a) in total and (b) of each constituent element of making an application to the EU Solidarity Fund was.

Andrew Percy: Holding answer received on 22 February 2017



The Commission has now proposed to the European Parliament and Council that the UK receives a notional €60 million (circa £51.6 million) in assistance (subject to approval by the two bodies). However, owing to the costs involved in making an application and the effect of clawback through the UK rebate, the overall net benefit to the UK is only estimated to be €17 million (circa £15 million) This will be further offset by a payment of £14.5 million that the UK is legally obliged to make to the EU in respect of the UK’s 2007 application (by the then Labour Government) for Solidarity Fund assistance following the serious floods that year. Consequently, this funding does not offer additional support, but is only eligible to reimburse a small portion of the extensive financial support that has already been given by the government to areas affected.

European Union Solidarity Fund

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 January 2017, on Winter Flooding 2015-16, HCWS412, how much of the £60 million in assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund has been attributed to the effect of clawback through the UK rebate.

Andrew Percy: Holding answer received on 22 February 2017



The Commission has now proposed to the European Parliament and Council that the UK receives a notional €60.3 million in assistance (subject to approval by the two bodies). However, owing to the costs involved in making an application and the effect of clawback through the UK rebate, the overall net benefit to the UK is only estimated to be €17 million (circa £15 million). This will be further offset by a payment of £14.5 million that the UK is legally obliged to make to the EU in respect of the UK’s 2007 application (by the then Labour Government) for Solidarity Fund assistance following the serious floods that year. The UK Government is obliged to repay funding where there was ineligible spending under the Labour administration. Consequently, this funding does not offer additional support.

European Union Solidarity Fund

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Government first became aware that payments to the EU were required in relation to the UK's 2007 Solidarity Fund application.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 January 2017, on winter flooding 2015-16, HCWS412, on what date he first became aware  that the UK was legally obliged to make a payment of £14.5 million in respect of the 2007 application for Solidarity Fund assistance.

Andrew Percy: Commission audits which ended in 2012 on the UK’s use of the European Union Solidarity Fund in response to the 2007 floods argued that errors were made in the use and management of this funding among government departments. The Commission issued a final invoice for payment for £14.5 million in May 2016.

Housing Revenue Accounts

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what right to buy receipts local authorities have paid to the Exchequer including (a) capital receipts, (b) any interest accrued and (c) any other relevant amount in each financial year from 2012-13.

Gavin Barwell: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 64700 on 1 March 2017.

Social Workers: Training

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what training will be offered to social workers in England to prepare for the introduction of the third party reporting mechanism for the non-consensual sex exemption in respect of child tax credit payments.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has no responsibility for the training of social workers.The Government outlined in the response to the ‘Exceptions to the limiting of the individual Child Element of Child Tax Credit and the Child Element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children’ consultation on 20 January 2017 that the list of third parties used for the non-consensual sex exception will include health care professionals, social workers and relevant specialist charities. The Government is currently working with stakeholders to develop guidance for this process. The Government recognises this exception is sensitive and have consulted on how it should be implemented.

Internet: Hate Crime

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his answer of 25 January to question 61017, for what reasons offences committed online are not recorded and what the estimated cost of keeping such records is.

Mr Marcus Jones: The College of Policing Hate Crime Operational Guidance, issued in 2014, makes clear that hate crimes committed online should be recorded in the same way as all others: http://www.report-it.org.uk/strategy_and_guidance.The Home Office is responsible for the collection and publication of data on police recorded crime, including hate crime. Information on whether a crime was committed online (in full or in part) has been collected on a mandatory basis since April 2015. The Home Office plans to publish information on the proportion of police recorded hate crime that is identified as being online in their Hate Crime England and Wales 2016/17 bulletin which is due for publication in October 2017

Dental Health

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2017 to Question 62638, on how many occasions local authorities have been penalised for failing to meet statutory requirements on oral health.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2017 to Question 62638, what the penalty is for local authorities who fail to meet their statutory requirements on oral health.

Mr Marcus Jones: The information requested is not held centrally.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many civil servants in his Department oversee contracts which have been awarded to external providers.

David Mundell: Other than minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not normally undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice. The Scotland Office have no civil servants whose sole role is to oversee contracts which have been awarded to external providers.

HM Treasury

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department plans to use to measure the success of the proposed tax-free childcare scheme.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average benefit that will accrue to families from the proposed tax-free childcare scheme.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will report on the level of take up of tax-free childcare of (a) self-employed people and (b) other workers who earn the national living wage.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the annual cost to the public purse of the planned tax-free childcare scheme; and what the take-up rate has been of that scheme prior to its roll-out.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the roll-out of tax-free childcare will (a) begin and (b) be completed.

Jane Ellison: I am pleased to confirm the government will soon be launching Tax-Free Childcare which will allow working families to receive up to £2,000 childcare support per child, per year. The new scheme will roll out gradually following the completion of the current Trial.Tax-Free Childcare will be rolled out to all eligible families before the end of 2017 in a safe and managed way to ensure that the system runs smoothly for parents. The average benefit accruing to families from the proposed Tax-Free Childcare scheme is estimated to be around £800 per year. The estimated cost of Tax-Free Childcare in each year of this parliament is shown in the table below.  2016-172017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22Cost (£bn)0.00.60.80.90.91.0 These estimates are published in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook - November 2016.www.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2016/ As set out at Autumn Statement 2016, once the scheme is fully rolled out, the government will review its operation to ensure it is delivering as intended and to assess the benefit it is delivering for working parents. We will also publish details about the numbers of families taking-up the scheme.

Welfare Tax Credits

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his timetable is for the review of cases of families who had their tax credits restricted or removed by Concentricx

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is carrying out a risk-based assurance review of the remaining High Risk Renewal 2016 cases where Concentrix has amended or terminated a claimant’s award but no Mandatory Reconsideration has been requested. HMRC is reviewing these cases to establish that decisions by Concentrix were properly made and communicated to claimants. Current plans indicate that this activity is expected to be completed by 31 March 2017.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Tom Tugendhat: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals related to business rates the Valuation Office has received from businesses in England in the most recent year for which figures are available; and of those appeals how many reached a conclusion requiring a new business rate to be set.

Jane Ellison: Statistics on the number of formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) against the 2010 Local Rating List Rateable Values, split by quarters and local authorities are published on the VOA website. The latest published information for challenges received in England is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-england-and-wales-december-2016-experimental. The following table shows figures for challenges received between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016, and those resolved resulting in a change to the Rateable Value in the rating list in England. 1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2016 Received80,420  Resolved, resulting in a change to the list3,770 Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'. Information about whether changes in Rateable Values resulted in changes in business rates bills is not held by the VOA, as local councils are responsible for calculating the rates bill and applying any reliefs.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Tom Tugendhat: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals related to business rates the Valuation Office has received from businesses in Tonbridge and Malling constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available; and of those appeals how many reached a conclusion requiring a new business rate to be set.

Jane Ellison: Statistics on the number of formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) against the 2010 Local Rating List Rateable Values split by quarters and local authorities are published on the VOA website. The latest published statistics at Billing Authority level on challenges received up to 30 September 2016 are available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569288/NDR_2010_Challenges_and_Changes.xls VOA data is not held in a way that allows it to be broken down by parliamentary constituency, and statistical estimates can be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows figures for challenges received between 1 January and 31 December 2016, and those resolved resulting in a change to the Rateable Value in the rating list, for the local authorities of Tonbridge & Malling and Sevenoaks. 1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2016 Received270  Resolved, resulting in a change to the list20 Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'.Information about whether changes in Rateable Values resulted in changes in business rates bills is not held by the VOA, as local councils are responsible for calculating the rates bill and applying any reliefs.

Small Businesses: Cash Dispensing

Rachel Reeves: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reduced access to free ATMs on small businesses in (a) England, (b) the Yorkshire and the Humber region and (c) Leeds West constituency.

Simon Kirby: The Government has not made any assessment of the potential effect of reduced access to free ATMs on small businesses in (a) England, (b) the Yorkshire and Humber region and (c) Leeds West constituency. The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained, and is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute. The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation, and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely, including assessing the potential effect of any development on the provision of ATMs in the UK. The PSR has the power to act should LINK or any of its members behave in a way that conflicts with any of its statutory objectives.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Matthew Pennycook: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's VED reform, due to commence on 1 April 2017, what estimate he has made of how many and what proportion of zero emission vehicles have a list price (a) of £40,000 and under and (b) over £40,000; and for what reasons the threshold was set by the Government at £40,000.

Jane Ellison: Data is not available about list prices for cars registered in the pre-2017 VED system. As a proxy, data can be used from the Government’s Plug-in Car Grant scheme, which provides a discount to purchasers of eligible ultra-low emission cars. The value of the grant varies according to factors including the vehicle’s zero emission mileage capability. In the year to November 2016, 23% of all grants of the highest category available (i.e. cars with below 50g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2) and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles) were in respect of cars priced over £40,000. Out of all grants made since the scheme began, 14% of grants in the highest category were in respect of cars priced over £40,000. Ahead of the announcement of the VED reforms at Summer Budget 2015, Ministers reviewed data from 2014 that showed 95% of car sales were below £40k. Ministers considered that this was a fair threshold for an additional rate of VED which would apply to consumers who are able to afford a supplement.

Pension Rights

Alex Cunningham: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the judgment of the Supreme Court of 8 February 2017, in the matter of an application by Denise Brewster for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2017] UKSC8.

Mr David Gauke: The government is considering the Brewster judgment and the impact it has on public service pension schemes. The government will work with these pension schemes to understand what changes, if any, will need to be made.

Minimum Wage: Arrears

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the 359 employers named by his Department for non-compliance with the national minimum wage on 15 February 2017 identified further arrears, not included in the sum of arrears for which they were named, under the self-correction mechanism introduced by HM Revenue and Customs in 2015; what the combined total was of such further, self-corrected arrears; and to how many workers such arrears were owed.

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the £2.4 million that Argos has reportedly agreed with HM Revenue and Customs to pay to current and former employees was identified under the self-correction mechanism introduced by HM Revenue and Customs in 2015.

Jane Ellison: The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) receives them. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW or NLW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to the department. Of the 359 employers named on 15 February 2017, 60 paid further arrears identified through self-correction. The sum total of self-corrected arrears paid by these employers was £1,435,419. This sum was paid to 30,496 workers who had been underpaid. For reasons of confidentiality, HMRC does not disclose information relating to the affairs of an individual or company.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff have been seconded to Government Departments from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) KPMG, (e) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Ben Gummer: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 06 February 2017.The correct answer should have been:

Secondments into government departments can be centrally arranged or arranged by individuals or their departments. The number of individuals with secondments arranged from the centre is 2. The number of staff on secondments which are not centrally arranged are not centrally held.Table 1: Number of Secondees Coming into Departments From Specified CompaniesCompanyNumberHost Departments PWC2MOD / HMT CCSDeloitte0 Accenture0 KPMG0 3 DH/DWP/MOJMcKinsey & Co0 Ernst and Young0 Bain & Company0

Ben Gummer: Secondments into government departments can be centrally arranged or arranged by individuals or their departments. The number of individuals with secondments arranged from the centre is 2. The number of staff on secondments which are not centrally arranged are not centrally held.Table 1: Number of Secondees Coming into Departments From Specified CompaniesCompanyNumberHost Departments PWC2MOD / HMT CCSDeloitte0 Accenture0 KPMG0 3 DH/DWP/MOJMcKinsey & Co0 Ernst and Young0 Bain & Company0

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to adopt contextual recruitment methods to increase the diversity of civil service recruitment; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: To date, the only Civil Service implementation of contextual recruitment was a trial of the methodology in 2016, conducted by the Civil Service Fast Stream graduate programme. Consideration will be given to further use of the approach, once the evaluation has been completed.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to make open data publication a requirement for all companies entering Government procurement tenders.

Ben Gummer: At the Anti-Corruption Summit held in London in May 2016, the UK Government made a commitment to implement the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) for contracts administered by a central purchasing authority, the Crown Commercial Service: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-contracts-to-be- open-to-public-for- the-first-time. UK Government has set up a Showcase and Learning Project with the Open Contracting Partnership to share our learning with others in the public sector. At the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit 2016, which took place in Paris at the beginning of December 2016 the governments of Colombia, France, Mexico, Ukraine and the UK officially launched the ‘Contracting 5’ (C5) initiative. The C5 are committed to working together to lead the way on using open data to improve public procurement and achieve better value for money; a fairer and more competitive business environment; better goods and services; and reduced corruption in public contracting.The Crown Commercial Service published updated guidance on “The Transparency of Suppliers and Government to the Public on 16 February 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy- note-0117-update-to-transparency-principles. The Government has also implemented the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by publishing Contracts Finder data in OCDS format.

Department for International Trade

Adam Werritty

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many times Mr Adam Werritty has been received on his Department's premises at his behest since he took office.

Greg Hands: None.

Department of Health

Ambulance Services: Standards

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the ambulance service prioritises the severity of patients' symptoms to minimise the time taken for ambulances to reach patients.

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the ambulance service prioritises the severity of patients' symptoms to ensure that each case is dealt with appropriately.

Mr Philip Dunne: There are three ambulance response time standards for immediately life threatening (Category A) calls as follows:- at least 75% of Category A Red 1 calls to be responded to within eight minutes, from the time the call is connected to the control room. Red 1 calls are the most time critical, covering cardiac arrest patients who are not breathing and do not have a pulse, and other severe conditions such as airway obstruction;- at least 75% of Category A Red 2 calls to be responded to within eight minutes, from the time that either the chief complaint is identified, the call handler determines a priority response is required, or after 60 seconds has elapsed, whichever is the sooner. Red 2 calls are serious but less immediately time critical, covering conditions such as stroke and fits; and- at least 95% of all Category A calls (Red 1 and Red 2) to receive a fully equipped ambulance vehicle able to transport the patient in a clinically safe manner within 19 minutes of the request being made.Lower acuity calls where there is still a need for an ambulance are called “Green calls”. Response times for these are agreed and set locally. Ambulance services use approved call prioritisation systems to map symptoms against the categories. Call categorisation symptoms are reviewed annually by the Emergency Calls Prioritisation Advisory Group. The Department continues to work closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to monitor and support performance in 2016-17. NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review will transform ambulance services from a service based on a model of transportation to one of clinical assessment and treatment. We expect NHS England will make recommendations in spring 2017.

Obesity: Surgery

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of patients received treatment for bariatric surgery within 18 weeks of referral in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2012-13.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England publishes monthly data on referral to treatment waiting times to monitor performance against the legal right that patients have to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The data that are published include the proportion of patients who waited within 18 high volume specialties but not individual procedures such as bariatric surgery. The information requested is therefore not available.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his future policies of the NHS Ambulance Response Programme trial undertaken by the South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ambulance Response Programme is part of NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review, which will transform ambulance services from a service based on a model of transportation to one of clinical assessment and treatment. We expect NHS England will make recommendations in spring 2017.

Ambulance Services: Finance

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of financial resources available to ambulance services for emergency response.

Mr Philip Dunne: The funding of ambulance services is a matter for local National Health Service clinical commissioning groups. As part of a £400 million package of resilience funding for 2016/17, £50 million was to support a number of national initiatives including additional resilience support for ambulance services.

Women and Equalities

Civil Partnerships

Sarah Olney: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the merits of extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government carried out a consultation on the future of civil partnerships in 2014. Views were invited on three options: abolishing civil partnerships; phasing them out; or extending them to opposite sex couples.The review found that there was no clear consensus on the future of civil partnerships. A majority of respondents to the consultation were against extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples and several significant stakeholders thought it was too soon to consider making changes to civil partnerships until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known. Given the lack of any consensus, the government did not change the Civil Partnership Act 2004.The decision not to change the law was judicially reviewed last year and the Government won in the High Court. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against the High Court judgment this week and confirmed that the Government’s approach is lawful.We welcome the Court’s ruling. Before we take any action on this issue, it is right that we evaluate the impact that same sex marriage has on the take-up of civil partnerships. We will also carefully consider this judgment and its implications before deciding on our next steps.